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Medical Author:

Timothy Price, MD

Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Recovery from electric shock depends on the nature and severity of the injuries. The percentage of the body surface area burned is the most important factor affecting prognosis.

If someone who has received an electric shock does not suffer immediate cardiac arrest and does not have severe burns, he or she is likely to survive.

Infection is the most common cause of death in people hospitalized following electrical injury.

Electrical damage to the brain may result in a permanent seizure disorder, depression, anxiety, or other personality changes.

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